chiknsmack

Transfermarkt has Archer at 175cm, or 5'7.5". Less than an inch taller than Armstrong.

Sugawara vs Brentford. After gifting Newcastle the winner on opening day, then gifting Brentford two goals to go 3-0 down in the third match, Adam Lallana comes on in the 82nd minute and immediately looks a class above everyone else on the pitch. He combines with Tyler Dibling to set up the first goal of the season and give some hope that this side can score a few goals and maybe, if they stop gifting goals to the opposition, isn't entirely in over their heads. (Narrator: they were, in fact, in over their heads.)

The loan expires at the end of May.

Rickie Lambert?

Strasbourg are Chelsea's Valenciennes, so if he does realise his potential he probably ends up at Chelsea for a nominal fee.

Stephens Lyanco Bazunu is the solution to our defensive midfield woes.

Cameras usually make conditions look better than they are, but for most of the second half I had a hard time spotting the ball (and no chance of seeing P13A players) when play was on the far side of the pitch. The pitch didn't look too good but it played a lot better than it looked. Camblan looks a good addition.

Right-footed Sulemana and KWP on the left. Bree and left-footed Aribo or Dibling on the right. Players who found themselves consistently in the right position to go to the byline and curl a cross back for Onuachu and most of them were on the wrong side of the pitch to do so (and the other for whatever reason had zero interest in trying). Things have improved by having a clear, simple plan when in possession in the defensive third (don't tap it around and eventually pass it to the opposition to let them have a shot; just send it long). We're no longer the architects of our own demise at the back. Now we need a clear, simple plan in attack, something like "Get it wide, then get it forward, then get it in the box". If repeatedly playing the ball around our own box led to conceding goals, maybe repeatedly playing the ball into the opposition box could lead to scoring some.

Yes. The Gakpo that almost came to us or Leeds until Dutch national team coach Louis Van Gaal told him to stay in the Netherlands until after the World Cup, where he scored three goals and caught the eye of Liverpool. And the Ramos that almost came to us until Benfica qualified for the Champions League group stages, decided to keep him, and he too scored three goals at the World Cup. It's not unthinkable that such players can end up at Saints. In fact that's SR's whole goal; find (and sign) players who within a window or two are wanted at Liverpool and PSG. As I said the scouting team are pretty good at the finding, but whoever does the signing part leaves a lot to be desired.

We didn't miss out on Gakpo and Ramos by much. If either of those had gotten across the line we'd never have heard of Onuachu/Sulemana/Orsic, and only possibly heard of BBD/Archer/Stewart after selling Gakpo or Ramos for big money (even then we probably would've aimed higher). There's not much wrong with the scouting, it's the final decision-makers who leave a lot to be desired.

Ramsdale Suga ABK THB KWP Lavia Fernandes Dibling Lallana Alcaraz Archer You can have Dibling and Lallana sharing a spot to shoehorn JWP or Stu in. We've learnt the hard way that DM is the most important position on the pitch (our performances when JWP was tasked with filling in for Romeu or Lavia) and that's the main thing for the new manager to figure out. Downes may - or may not - fall into that "too good for the Champ, not good enough for the Prem" void, and I still hold out hope that Ugochukwu is good enough. He, like Shea Charles, struggled under Martin's tippy-tappy strategy but could be better suited to making tackles and handing the ball off to someone more creative rather than rondos on the edge of his own box.

Your post translated to "Now it's on to the championship", but "the Championship" is the 2nd division (the one we're trying to avoid being relegated to).

New manager bounce, win three of four against Fulham/Wham/Palace/Brentford to get back into the fight, and then Levy offers half of what he's worth as per usual so he goes? I don't see it. £70m in the summer if we go down. If we stay up and keep improving in subsequent years he's here for life.